Diagnostic Utility of Carbohydrate-deficient Transferrin as a Marker of Alcohol Dependence

Hur, Mina; Lee, Kyu Man; Shin, Dong Hoon; Cho, Hyoun Chan; Kim, Seung Kyum; Choi, Ihn Geun

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Biochemical markers can provide objective evidence of heavy alcohol drinking. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic usefulness of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT), a relatively new marker of alcohol consumption. METHODS: We consecutively enrolled 81 participants aged between 28 and 69 years, consisting of 44 alcohol-dependent patients and 37 age-matched controls. Relative values (%) of CDT were determined in their sera with turbidimetric immunoassay (Bio-Rad %CDT assay, Axis-Shield ASA, Oslo, Norway), and were compared with two conventional markers of alcohol consumption, gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). RESULTS: The distribution patterns of %CDT among alcohol-dependent patients and controls were significantly different from each other (P=0.0000). Of the 44 alcohol-dependent patients, positive results of %CDT (> or =2.6%), GGT (>50 IU/L), and MCV (>98 fL) were observed in 43 (97.7%), 35 (79.5%), and 24 (54.5%) patients, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (95% confidence interval) for %CDT, GGT, and MCV were 0.995 (0.946-1.000), 0.894 (0.805-0.951), and 0.768 (0.661-0.855), respectively. Discrimination between alcohol-dependent patients and controls, as measured by the areas under the ROC curves, was significantly better for %CDT than for GGT and MCV (P=0.000 and P=0.006, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: CDT seems to be the most reliable of the three markers tested for chronic alcohol consumption, and it may provide a useful information to for the objective detection of alcohol-dependent patients.